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AB-1862 Tribally Approved Homes Compensation Program.(2021-2022)

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Date Published: 08/01/2022 02:00 PM
AB1862:v97#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Senate  August 01, 2022
Amended  IN  Assembly  March 29, 2022

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2021–2022 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 1862

Introduced by Assembly Member Ramos
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Carrillo, Cristina Garcia, Gipson, Mathis, Quirk-Silva, Robert Rivas, and Villapudua)

February 08, 2022

An act to amend Section 10553.12 of, and to add Section 10553.13 to, the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child welfare services.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 1862, as amended, Ramos. Tribally Approved Homes Compensation Program.
Existing federal law, the Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978 (ICWA), governs the proceedings for determining the placement of an Indian child when that child is removed from the custody of the child’s parent or guardian. Existing law specifies that the state is committed to protecting the essential tribal relations and best interest of an Indian child by promoting practices in accordance with ICWA. Existing law authorizes a federally recognized tribe to approve a home for the purpose of foster or adoptive placement of an Indian child pursuant to ICWA, ICWA and authorizes a tribe to designate a tribal organization to do the same.
This bill would establish the Tribally Approved Homes Compensation Program to provide funding to eligible tribes and tribal organizations in California to assist in funding the costs associated with recruiting and approving homes for the purpose of foster or adoptive placement of an Indian child pursuant to ICWA, as described above. The bill would, subject to an appropriation for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, require the State Department of Social Services to provide annual allocations of $75,000 to eligible tribes and tribal organizations in each fiscal year, year and would require a tribe or tribal organization to submit to the department a letter of intent for funding, as specified, in order to be eligible for the funding allocation. The bill would require a tribe or tribal organization that receives funding pursuant to the program to submit a progress report to the department following the close of the fiscal year in which an allocation was received that includes details about how many homes were approved, recruitment efforts, and challenges experienced during the fiscal year that was funded, funded and would require the department to annually compile those progress reports and submit a report to the Legislature, as specified.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 Section 10553.12 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:

10553.12.
 (a) Notwithstanding any other law, a federally recognized tribe is authorized, but not required, to license or approve a home for the purpose of foster or adoptive placement of an Indian child pursuant to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1915).
(b) An Indian child, as defined by subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 224, who has been removed pursuant to Section 361, from the custody of their parents or Indian custodian pursuant to Section 361 may be placed in a tribally approved home, as defined in subdivision (r) of Section 224.1, pursuant to Section 1915 of the federal Indian Child Welfare Act.
(c) To facilitate the availability of tribally approved homes that have been fully approved in accord with federal law, including completion of required background checks pursuant to Section 8712 of the Family Code, a tribe or tribal organization may request from the Department of Justice federal and state summary criminal history information and Child Abuse Central Index Information pursuant to paragraph (8) of subdivision (b) of Section 11170 of the Penal Code regarding a prospective foster parent or adoptive parent, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant, a person who has a familial or intimate relationship with a person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of the child welfare agency who may have contact with children.
(d) As used in this section, a “tribal organization” means an entity designated by a federally recognized tribe as authorized to approve homes consistent with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act for the purpose of placing an Indian child into foster or adoptive care, including the authority to conduct criminal record and child abuse background checks of, and grant exemptions to, individuals who are prospective foster parents or adoptive parents, an adult who resides or is employed in the home of an applicant for approval, a person who has a familial or intimate relationship with a person living in the home of an applicant, or an employee of the tribal organization who may have contact with children. A tribal organization may serve one or more federally recognized tribes.
(e) A county social worker may place an Indian child in a tribally approved home without having to conduct a separate background check, upon certification by the tribe or tribal organization of the following:
(1) The tribe or tribal organization has completed a criminal record background check in accord with the standards set forth in Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code, Code and a Child Abuse Central Index Check pursuant to Section 1522.1 of the Health and Safety Code, Code with respect to each of the individuals described in subdivision (c).
(2) The tribe or tribal organization has agreed to report to a county child welfare agency responsible for a child placed in the tribally approved home, within 24 hours of notification to the tribe or tribal organization by the Department of Justice, of any subsequent state or federal arrest or disposition notification provided pursuant to Section 11105.2 of the Penal Code involving an individual associated with the tribally approved home where an Indian child is placed.
(3) If the tribe or tribal organization in its certification states that the individual was granted a criminal record exemption, the certification shall specify that the exemption was evaluated in accord with the standards and limitations set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (g) of Section 1522 of the Health and Safety Code and was not granted to an individual ineligible for an exemption under that provision.
(f) Tribal home approvals conducted in compliance with this section are not subject to resource family approval requirements.

SEC. 2.

 Section 10553.13 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

10553.13.
 (a) The Tribally Approved Homes Compensation Program is hereby established to provide funding to eligible tribes and tribal organizations, as defined in Section 10553.12, in California to assist in funding the costs associated with recruiting and approving homes for the purpose of foster or adoptive placement of an Indian child pursuant to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, as described in Section 10553.12. Under the program, the department, subject to an appropriation for this purpose in the annual Budget Act, shall provide annual allocations of seventy-five thousand dollars ($75,000) to eligible tribes and tribal organizations in each fiscal year.
(b) To be eligible for the seventy-five-thousand-dollar ($75,000) allocation, a tribe or tribal organization shall submit a letter of intent for funding to the department by May 1 prior to the fiscal year for which the funding is requested describing how the tribe or tribal organization will recruit and retain a tribal staff member to administer the tribally approved homes process. Tribes and tribal organizations may share a staff position to conduct program activities. The letter of intent shall include an estimated number of homes the tribal staff member will investigate and potentially approve per year. The department shall not establish a minimum number of tribally approved homes requirement.
(c) A tribe or tribal organization that receives funding pursuant to the program shall submit a progress report to the department by August 1 following the close of the fiscal year in which an allocation was received that includes details about how many homes were approved, recruitment efforts, and challenges experienced during the fiscal year that was funded.
(d) (1) The department shall annually compile the progress reports it receives pursuant to subdivision (c) and submit a report to the Legislature with the information from the progress reports no later than January 1 following the close of the fiscal year that the reports cover.
(2) A report to be submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.